Digital Future Summit Update
November 29th, 2007 at 3:20 pm by David FarrarHas been an interesting day and a half so far at the Digital Future Summit.
David Cunliffe gave an excellent speech to the Summit – most agree it was a highlight. It was good on both presentation and content.
For the first time the Government said the future is fibre to the home. Yay. He also spoke of being interested in alternative ideas for meeting the country’s investment requirements, which is promising. He advocated two targets for fibre to the node:
- Towns with greater than 10,000 residents (representing approximately 76% of telephone lines) will have access to broadband at speeds of at least 20Mbps
- 90% of New Zealand’s lines will have access to broadband at speeds of at least 10 mbps
Cunliffe also touched on the issue of the high prices of international bandwidth, and the need for more overseas pipes.
Russell Brown also thought it was a good speech, and he interviewed me for Public Address Radio on the Summit.
Some other points made by speakers:
- It used to be anti social for a kid to be in their room alone, now it is considered anti social to be away from your computer for too long
- The “word of mouse” is replacing the “word of mouth”
- David Skilling made the point that while many reasons for increased broadband are social, there is also a strong economic argument for NZ to have better broadband or keep losing people off shore.
- Maurice Williamson had an excellent suggestion that all government agencies should be directed to make land and resources available for fibre and to facilitate consent. Transit should be required to place pipes with roads. Maybe make compulsory for new subdivisions fibre to the home, along with sewerage, power and phone.
- Someone said that having fibre to the node, instead of to the home, is like having a motorway to your suburb and then a dirt track to your house 3 kms away. And Telecom’s plan is only to reduce the dirt track to 2 kms – is that much to cheer about?
- A very funny moment as Rod Oram was explaing to an overseas video linkup why so many people in the audience have moustaches this month. His exact words were “Men, well mostly men, grow moustaches s for November”
- Sam Morgan was very good, and divided people into those born before 1967 and after 1967. I was born in 1967 but identified with the after 67 crowd as he described them as those who use Wikipedia, Bit Torrent, Technorati and Facebook rather than pre 67s who use Amazon, Stuff and the Herald.
- Andy Lark spoke about how 1 in 8 US adults getting married met online, and how Myspace by population is the 11th largest country in the world.
Pete Hodgson also spoke yesterday, and he was absolutely terrible. He shuffled everywhere and was not particularly coherent. Most people thought he might be sick. Seriously he was that bad.
Cullen spoke this morning. I missed that as I’m sick myself (have a cold) so was late getting here. But people said he did well as expected, filling in for Helen.
The best Minister today was Trevor Mallard. Trevor spoke on broadcasting and especially digital broadcasting and knew his stuff quite well. He also used humor very effectively referring to his front bench demotion. Mallard also announced that TVNZ will stop analog broadcasts in either 2012 or when 75% of viewers have gone digital.
Bernard Hickey from Fairfax gave an excellent presentation on how Fairfax is coping in the digital age. I’ll actually do a separate post on it, once I can get hold of a copy of the presentation.
The only real downside was this morning when they tried to do some sort of consultation process, by way of people at each table voting on answers to some questions on ICT. But it was a fiasco as an obviously transparent attempt to claim consultation has been done on the outcomes. Imagine 400 very intelligent peeved off people using the online feedback channels to exclaim that they reject the premise of the questions let alone the five multi-choice answers which were all wrong. True consultation is not a multi-choice response to some pre-selected questions.
Overall has been very worthwhile so far, and it’s good to be able to attend. The quality of speakers has generally been first class.
Related posts:
- The Digital Future Summit
- Digital Future Summit round-up
- Digital Cities Conference so far
- Discussion on Future:Digital
November 29th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
10 mbps
10 milli-bits per second doesn’t sound that fast
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
I find it ironic that so many Labour ministers are specking here, given that it is largely thier fault that there has been such a lack of investment in internet infrustructure.
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
That is wrong on so many levels.
Also, I can’t but think that it is the RWC instead of new infrastructure that will be in place, that rules out the decommissioning of the analog signal before 2012. Imagine all the households that have not taken up “Free”view by then (and not being able to watch the RWC)! They may still be in the majority by then at the current rate of uptake.
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
I had to miss most of Sam Morgan’s presentation, which was a shame. He’s someone with a great understanding of the environment in which he operates. I was born in 1962, but I use BitTorrent, Technorati and Facebook too …
David’s not just politicking about Hodgson’s incoherent performance. People were genuinely taken aback by it.
Cullen spoke this morning. I missed that as I’m sick myself (have a cold) so was late getting here.
Really David?
You looked extremely fit and well when I last saw you at the Blackberry Curve launch the night before. Perhaps one of those delicious cocktails disagreed with you?
PS: Just put the radio show to bed. I’ve described you as “the Energiser Bunny of New Zealand blogging” …5pm Saturday, Radio Live.
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Sam Morgan was very good, and divided people into those born before 1967 and after 1967. I was born in 1967 but identified with the after 67 crowd as he described them as those who use Wikipedia, Bit Torrent, Technorati and Facebook rather than pre 67s who use Amazon, Stuff and the Herald.
Pft. I work with people in their 50′s who use wikipedia and BitTorrent. Personally I divide people up into groups of those that make lazy, superficial generalizations and those that don’t.
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
I don’t think it was Labour that did nothing about Telecom’s abuse of position for a decade… I think it was probably Maurice Williamson. And I seem to recall Labour introducing the Fletcher Inquiry, the Telco Act and then calling for structural separation of Telecom.
I think you may need to rethink your definition of “at fault”.
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Dim – and which group does that put you in?
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
I object to the 1967 thing, it’s way too late. All my peers use “newer” sites, it’s not just me. Besides, who are the managers with the mindsets to open up and obtain the necessary resources (equipment, bandwidth, human etc), persuading boards to adopt these strategies? Pre 1967s, that’s who!
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
Computers are basically spies in our homes govts can monitor us from.
Televisions are also going to have fish eyes incorporated in them so govts can actually watch us.
This of course will be implemeted when enough terroism justifies its use and we cry out to lose more freedoms for security.
we will truly need a big brother and will still not understand the US has been creating this need since ww2. Actually probably started practicing world domination with the genocide of the Indians.
Wasn’t it strange how they stated 9/11 was the first terroist act on US soil.
The White House was the home of the original terroists.
And if you think their excuse of Iraq stock piling wmd was original,,
no. They used that excuse against the Hawaiian queen as a pretext to capture Hawaii for big business.
And Colin Powell claimed the US has never occupied foreign soil and remained. Isn’t history interesting.
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
He said occupied -annexed now that’s quite different
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Wasn’t there one of these talkfests 5 years ago? I will believe some action has occurred when I can get broadband of any speed past my gate 7km from a 50K sign!
Hinamanu: Your meds are in the bath room cabinet, watch out for big brother behind the door…
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
“Hinamanu: Your meds are in the bath room cabinet, watch out for big brother behind the door…”
Cacofinix,, is that you.
Sounds like you,, looks like you, smells like a rat.
I accepted your terms of surrender today, Don’t make me avenge a lie.
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
and cacofinix,,
ask me which part of my post is a lie
Or better still, do something really enlightening and research history.
wikipedia is non biased and a good place to start.
otherwise,,
Be prepared…..
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
or you could just stay on topic
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
hinamanu Says:
“Computers are basically spies in our homes govts can monitor us from.”
Spot on there hinamanu thats why “The Lowest Standard” was set up by Dear Leaders decree to capture IP’s of all who post there. Why do you think the pricks post links here all the time, they are the Liarbore fifth columnists trying to tempt the Rightuous to visit the worst site in the blogosphere only to fall into the trap. Never be tempted, it only has shit on it anyway.
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
I note DPF’s comment on the quality of presentations.
Are we going to see any meaningful action and achievement from this meeting. A major concern is that this not go the way of the Knowledge Wave, long on talk short on delivery, good for Our Blessed Leader and her minions as they could say look how clued up we are.
It is unlikely that NZ will shape the Digital Future, in global terms, but assuming the future is Digital in what way is it going to influence our lives?
How can we take advantage and use the technology to mitigate the pressures and changes that other factors such as Climate Change will bring to our lives? I am concerened that an emphasis on mechanics of transmission ie we will have 20 MBPS is out weighing what will we do with it. Shades of ‘build it and they will come’
What is being done to educate and prepare people for the Digital Future? Have we thought about the social implications? What are these and are they positive or negative?
Fibre to the street/house is all very well, but what are going to do with it? Will we get cheap access so as to enable positive offsets for other factors?
What is the planning to use this to drive improved wealth creation in the broadest sense for all through knowledge, access to medical advice, work opportunities, as well as fun.
BTW just because Sam Morgan made a bundle does not make him a guru. His pre / post 1967 remark is patronising in the extreme.
The Future presents us with enormous opportunity, but I am afraid that it will devolve into a talk fest and study groups and that nothing will happen and in 5 years we will still be in the lower part of the OECD with our GDP going backwards.
Is it possible to access the presentations and any background material. This was possible with the Knowledge Wave.
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
RE:
hinamanu Says:
November 29th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
Computers are basically spies in our homes govts can monitor us from.
Televisions are also going to have fish eyes incorporated in them so govts can actually watch us.
This of course will be implemeted when enough terroism justifies its use and we cry out to lose more freedoms for security.
we will truly need a big brother and will still not understand the US has been creating this need since ww2. Actually probably started practicing world domination with the genocide of the Indians.
Wasn’t it strange how they stated 9/11 was the first terroist act on US soil.
The White House was the home of the original terroists.
And if you think their excuse of Iraq stock piling wmd was original,,
no. They used that excuse against the Hawaiian queen as a pretext to capture Hawaii for big business.
And Colin Powell claimed the US has never occupied foreign soil and remained. Isn’t history interesting
————
Go back to your cave as a troll the stone age is where you belong, if you cannot focus on what is relevant to the topic. Everywhere on this blog you keep posting irrelevant remarks.
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
I couldn’t help but noticing an overkill of Ministers – 5 Ministerial Addresses on the agenda + a Nat MP. Surely it would have been better served having more of those with practical experiance than the Ministers?
That said, Chris Anderson would have been VERY interesting, as a few of the other speakers.
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Also, you can’t seperate people who are internet savvy by age.
I’d say you’d have a bell curve on users of “web 2.0″ style sites, with those who are very young and those hitting retirement (spare time) being the heavy users, along with first movers in the middle.
But to claim pre and post 67 is a bit silly. I know plenty of people my age who aren’t *that* web savvy and still can’t get over this weird concept of blogs, then again know plenty of older people who are redditing things all the time.
As some have come to termt hem, its “Gen C” the content/communities/collaboration generation – that membership is not by age, but by online usage…
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
if the conference had been held a year ago would he have used 1966 as the cutoff, thus putting dpf and i on the young side of the threshold?
seems he chose 1967 as its 40 years, or is there something more scientific about this boundary other than the 40 year thing?
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
MikeE: Agree on not separating by age. I went to the US, visited a bunch of the larger vendors (Google, HP, IBM), and the buzz word everywhere was mashups. Talking to my mother (who is near to retirement) about her upcoming travels and desire to link her photos to google earth. I told her she needed a mashup, and she told me I was using the term wrong. And then sent me a Microsoft whitepaper to support her argument. (My work colleagues agreed that it was unreasonable for me to have to live with that kind of harassment).
Adam: agree that what we do with it is more important. Same US trip met with some folks about global warming/energy scarcity and what it means for IT. (Note that it doesn’t matter whether it is happening, companies need to have a response). Other than the obvious stuff like low power computing (data centres eat an enormous amount of power), we talked about things like telecommuting so as to reduce flights, car usage etc. Broadband is a decent component of this.
Of course, at bottom I am still convinced that the electoral math here is “just because you live on a farm doesn’t mean you can’t have fast porn.” Which might be a good election policy.
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Unfortunately while a great vision of the future is one thing, what is grating is how this is becoming yet another bit of pork barrel politics. He talked rubbish about telecommunications policy, as consumers benefited enormously from deregulation and privatisation in the 1990s – who pays $2 a minute to call the USA now, or even a national call? Look at cellphone penetration rates which soared. However, the myth around NZ telecommunications suits the current administration.
Cunliffe talks about forcing NZ taxpayers to pay for networks that benefit some of them, including significant subsidies for rural NZ. Rural communities have significant advantages in terms of land prices and lack of congestion, why the hell should urban NZ subsidise that?
He talks about subsidising international telecoms links, which is a complete nonsense. There is competition through satellites, which of course, a government picking winners may regard as inferior.
All in all it is the new Muldoonism, nobody denies the growth in ICT and telecoms that is fueling massive improvements in productivity and growth, but why the hell should other industries be forced to subsidise it? If there are huge returns to be made, why don’t those benefiting from them pay for them? Why is what taxpayers might spend their money on less valuable than subsidising high speed broadband which, for consumers, is by and large an entertainment medium.
Certainly government should get out of the way, but local government effectively stopped TelstraClear’s HFC network being built across Auckland because councils didn’t want overhead cables
Vote:November 29th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
libertyscott
Try this, go out and see a right wing
voting farmer and tell him his electrical network
will no longer be subsidised by urban dwellers.
You will find a lot of farming types who believe
Vote:in socialism.
November 29th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
“You will find a lot of farming types who believe
in socialism.”
Yes old grump hori , Auntie Helen is a mushroom grower of a large population of spores that are kept in the dark and fed on socialist bullshit. Her gummint are very good shit farmers .
Vote:November 30th, 2007 at 8:54 am
Yes grumpyoldhori, they had mouths taken off of the nipple of the state in the 80s when direct farming subsidies ended – they’ve learnt before. Farms are one of the few businesses where they pay the low regulated residential line rental because the farmer lives on the property. Doesn’t mean it is right the government makes companies subsidise the rural sector.
Vote:November 30th, 2007 at 11:49 am
“Mallard also announced that TVNZ will stop analog broadcasts in either 2012 or when 75% of viewers have gone digital.”
David, you came away from the Summit with the same impression that I did, namely that Mallard announced a 2012 analogue TV cutoff date.
Actually — as I realised when reviewing other stories and revisiting the announcement in my head — what Mallard really did was announce when an annoucement would be made.
In other words, in a mere five years, when most everyone else has shut down their analogue systems, our forward-thinking Government will finally be ready to commit to a date when we’ll go digital — which could, according to the Hon Mr Mallard, be no more than perhaps six to ten years later!
Wow – digital by 2022! Save a seat for me.
Vote: